Lubbock Music Fest showcase different music genres

Large concerts include Cody Canada & The Departed today at the Holly Plaza stage, across from the Buddy Holly Center, as well as Cactus Theater concerts by The Flatlanders on today and the Joe Ely Reunion Band on Saturday.

The Lubbock Music Fest will see a large array of musical genre’s spotlighted today and Saturday in the city’s Depot Entertainment District.

Large concerts include Cody Canada & The Departed today at the Holly Plaza stage, across from the Buddy Holly Center, as well as Cactus Theater concerts by The Flatlanders on today and the Joe Ely Reunion Band on Saturday. Bobby Keys, who played with the Rolling Stones, will join Ely’s band Saturday.

Grouplove and Shiny Toy Guns will perform the major outdoor concert today at Texas Avenue and 18th Street. Grouplove has steadily climbed the alternative rock charts and its hit “Tongue Tied” hit No. 1 in June. The same song, from debut CD “Never Trust a Happy Song,” also is rising on the Hot 100.

Providing a classical alternative today and Saturday is the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra at the Civic Center Theatre, officially opening its 2012-13 season with new conductor David Cho.

Two of the original three members of America, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, are still with the band — and America, which found success in the 1970s, will headline the Lubbock Music Fest’s outdoor concert Saturday on the Texas Avenue stage.

That concert will be opened by Rare Earth, which released such hits as the sing-along “I Just Want to Celebrate,” “We’re Gonna Have a Good Time,” their rendition of the Temptations’ “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” “Generation (Light Up the Sky)” and “Get Ready.”

An Art and Farmers’ Market will be at the Holly Plaza, followed by music from South Plains College and six hours devoted to this area’s young vocalists.

McPherson’s Cellar will host a large, two-day Wine and Vine Festival, as part of the Lubbock Music Fest. A dozen wineries will participate in a wine tasting, and there is a chef competition and live music.